Exchange Program in Amsterdam

December 7, 2012

About the Program

Each year, two students from either the Urban & Regional Policy (MURP) or MS in Law and Public Policy (LPP) programs can participate in a one-semester exchange program with the Universiteit van Amsterdam. Exchange students will be enrolled in the Urban Studies Research Master’s program. This is an academic, research-oriented program that will be complementary to our professionally-focused MURP and LPP programs.

The semester abroad takes place during the second Fall semester of a student’s matriculation.

Sample Courses Include

Urban Transformation and Strategic Planning

Metropolitan Transportation Planning

Urban Planning and Real Estate

Social Challenges in Cities

Territories, Identities and Conflict in a Changing World Order

Governance of Commons, Resources, and Environmental Conflict

Cases and How to Compare Them

Intensive Interviewing & Focus Groups

Network Analysis

Meet the exchange students currently studying at Northeastern University!

Donya Ahmadi and Arend Jonkman are in their second year of the Urban Studies Research Master’s program at UvA and are spending this semester at Northeastern University.

Donya was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. She earned her undergraduate degree in urban design and planning from the University of Tehran in 2011. She then moved to Amsterdam and enrolled in the Urban Studies program at UvA. After finishing the master’s program she hopes to earn a PhD and establish her grounds in Europe. While studying at Northeastern, Donya has been working with Professor James Connolly on her thesis, entitled “Accommodating Community Planning: The Importance of Context in Fostering Collaborative Decision Making.” Her thesis is based on a comparative analysis of two qualitative case studies, one in Amsterdam and one in Boston. She is looking at the HOPE VI redevelopment project of Maverick Landings, East Boston, with a focus on resident participation and the role of local agents, in this case the Maverick Tenants Organization, in making collaborative community-based decisions. Donya can be reached at donya.kad@gmail.com for any questions about the program.

Arend Jonkman grew up in a small city in the Netherlands. He studied Economics for two years before moving on to spend a year as the treasurer of the United Nations Student Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree in urban planning from UvA before moving onto the master’s program. Arend also writes for a Dutch journal that writes about closing the gap between academia and policy.

Application Process

Students wishing to apply for the program should submit a letter describing why they wish to attend and how the program relates to their area of interest.

The letter should be submitted to Professor Laurie Dopkins at l.dopkins@neu.eduno later than January 15th.

The admissions committee will review all submitted letters and select up to 2 candidates.